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(1832-1917). The founder of cultural anthropology was the English scientist Edward Burnett Tylor. He adapted Charles Darwin’s theory of biological evolution to the study of human societies. Tylor’s own theory asserted that there is a progressive development of human cultures from the most primitive to the highest stages of civilization. He believed that societies evolve in much the same way as do biological organisms. In developing the concept of "survivals," he noted that ancient customs and beliefs often survive in modern cultures, although somewhat transformed.